Sheesh Mahal Patiala, Punjab

Sheesh Mahal Patiala

The Sheesh Mahal is the famous tourist place in Patiala. Maharaja Narinder Singh built this Mahal in 1847. The design and the decoration of the palace was chosen by Maharaja Narinder Singh to a large extent. One section of Sheesh Mahal is decorated with colored glass and mirror work and it is also known as ‘Palace of Mirrors’. It is situated behind the MotiBagh Palace. It is a triple storey building. There is a bridge across the artificial lake in the centre of the palace. This bridge is known as LakshmanJhoola. There are gardens and fountains on the sides of the lake. Sheesh Mahal was the presidential palace of Maharajas of Patiala. To give the artistic look on the walls and ceilings of the Sheesh Mahal, Maharaja Narinder Singh engaged artistic painters from Rajasthan and Kangra. The artist made the floral designs on the walls and ceilings. Their art depict the vision of Bihari, Surdas and Keshav in the poetic form and in colors. The paintings of these artists show the very old stories in the style of Rajasthan.There is a museum in the Sheesh Mahal. In the museum, there are paintings of Jaya Deva’s poetry and GeetGovinda. The Kangra paintings on the walls of the museum show the Krishan Lila in very artistic way. There are also various fine objects of art like art of Tibet, Punjab’s ivory work objects, objects of Kashimiri art and wooden furniture of Maharajas time. The collection of these objects shows the life style of Maharajas. The large portraits of maharajas beautify the walls of the museum. The Medal collection of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh and Maharaja Yadwinder Singh from all over the world lies in the museum of Sheesh Mahal. There are about 3200 medals collected from different countries of the world by Maharaja from 12 to 20th century. There is also a collection of coins of 19th century. These coins show the history of different countries trade. The North zone culture centre is situated in the sheesh Mahal. On 6th November 1985, our Prime Minister Late Shri. Rajiv Gandhi inaugurated this centre. Every Year many cultural programmes and heritage festivals are organized in Sheesh Mahal.